Where To Get an Instrument Add-on in B206BIII

[edspilot]

If you wanted to get an instrument add-on rating in the Bell 206BIII, where would you go? I have no B206 time now, so would need a little spool up time too. (no pun intended) :-)

 

I'm looking for suggestions and recommendations?

 

Thanks,

 

edspilot

[rjl2001]

Leading Edge Aviation in Bend, OR has a 206BIII I believe. I really liked the school when I was going there last year. Plus the area in central Oregon is really nice if you haven't been in that part of the country before. The only issues I could think of is that they might be pretty crowded right now with a lot of GI Bill students, and they only have a couple 206's I think. I see you're on the other side of the country though so not sure if that's helpful or not for you. Good luck finding a place, I know I would love to get some time in a JetRanger.

[Whistlerpilot]

I know of these schools that have at least one Jet Ranger. If you are doing the Instrument Add On Rating you will need 15 hours of instrument training. Would be cheaper to do some of the hours in a cheaper platform and focus on emergency procedures etc in the 206.

 

Chinook Helicopters British Columbia

Red Eagle Aviation Idaho

Homestead Helicopters Montana

Applebee Aviation Oregon

Bell Factory School Texas

 

There's probably more but those are the ones I know of without google.

[Goldy]

If you wanted to get an instrument add-on rating in the Bell 206BIII, where would you go? I have no B206 time now, so would need a little spool up time too. (no pun intended) :-)

 

I'm looking for suggestions and recommendations?

 

Thanks,

 

edspilot

 

Come out to LA for $100-$135 an hour and pick up some 206 time. After maybe 20 hours you'll feel at ease and then you could go get some instrument time......but why does the instrument time have to be in a 206?????

[edspilot]

Goldy:

 

I want to get my instrument add-on and the Bell 206 is on my "bucket list" of helicopters to get time in. I thought, why not do them together?

 

Going across country to do it is not a problem, as before I retired, I accumlated 2.15 million frequent flyer miles in 4 years of international travel. I have only stepped on an commercial airliner two times in 4 years since retiring. Better used them before I loose them.

 

Where or who is the place you speek of?

 

Thanks to all for the suggestions!

 

Thanks,

 

edspilot

[Tenacious T]

the Bell 206 is on my "bucket list" of helicopters to get time in.

 

Prepare to be disappointed

[rick1128]

I know of these schools that have at least one Jet Ranger. If you are doing the Instrument Add On Rating you will need 15 hours of instrument training. Would be cheaper to do some of the hours in a cheaper platform and focus on emergency procedures etc in the 206.

 

Chinook Helicopters British Columbia

Red Eagle Aviation Idaho

Homestead Helicopters Montana

Applebee Aviation Oregon

Bell Factory School Texas

 

There's probably more but those are the ones I know of without google.

 

Last I heard Chinook doesn't do FAA ratings and Applebee doesn't have an IFR program. The Bell School is really great and is likely your best bet. A little on the expensive side but great folks and instructors. Plus you will have factory school.

 

One suggestion, your training will go much faster if you are instrument current. Even FW current is a big help. Plus plan on a couple of hours or so to get into the swing of the helicopter before you do any instrument work. I did the instrument add-on in an Enstrom. Until I got a handle on the machine it was a handful to fly under the hood.

[C of G]

Bristow Academy

 

www.heli.com

 

They have quite a few 206's. I'm thinking 10 or more. I also believe they have a 206 sim.

[clay]

Vertex Helicopters in Houston Texas has a really nice 206. get ahold of them

[helonorth]

If you want to fly a 206, why would want spend all that time and money while under the hood? Let's face it, instrument training is tedious and boring. Do your add on in a R-22 and spend the other ten grand on the 206 with a safety pilot, bring a couple friends and have some fun. You will have a hard time finding a 206 set up for instrument training because there are no 206's certified for instrument flight. It's just too expensive to train in turbines unless you are a large operator or government.

Edited April 22, 2011 by helonorth

[Whistlerpilot]

Chinook has 2 FAA certificated instructors on staff, but the exchange rate isn't going in your favor now. I echo what everyone else is saying. Do the instrument rating on a cheaper helicopter and then spend the difference in cost on 206 time. If you have the funds to do whatever you want in retirement then by all means check it off the bucket list!

[rick1128]

Shop around a little bit and negotiate. There not that many IFR R22's around and the R44's can be somewhat expensive. The way the training market presently is, you could get a fairly reasonable rate in a 206, especially when you are talking about 15 to 20 hours in fairly quick order. If you can get the rate in the area of 500/hr on a 206, you will be right in the area of the 44. Your best bet would be to research the market and the rates and then sit down and do the math. It is fairly possible that doing your instrument in a R22 for 15 to 17 hours and 10 hours in the 206 will be more than 17 hours in the 206. Plus there is no reason to make the rating any harder than it has to be with a less stable machine. A few phone calls to various schools to try to firm up the numbers and then you are off and running. Your best bet there would be the smaller schools. The larger helicopter pilot factories don't need to negotiate.

 

Good luck.

Edited April 22, 2011 by rick1128

[Goldy]

Goldy:

 

I want to get my instrument add-on and the Bell 206 is on my "bucket list" of helicopters to get time in. I thought, why not do them together?

edspilot

 

Hey Dean, apparently some of the other posters don't know you well enough! I'll send you a PM with the link for the 206, they go up and do traffic stuff and you fly. You'll get to work every inch of airspace in LA. Plus if you come out, I'll buy ya a beer.....or maybe even two!

[NorCalHeliKid]

If I were going to spend that kind of money I would use a helicopter that was actually IFR certified and log some WX time instead of flying around with the hood VFR without the actual need. Secondly, you are going to be hard pressed to find a 206 with a good Instrument package outside of the Army trainers. Might as well be looking for someone with a 407 and go punching through some clouds.

But...as said above, if you do so, prepare to be disappointed.

[RkyMtnHI]

Hey Dean,

 

of course i'd like to see you do that training with us, but knowing you, i concur that the factory is a great choice. I'd also take Goldy up on his offer and get some time in and around LA.. it was quite intimidating for me to fly out there, but you'd probably be right at home!!! lol

 

if you make it out here in June you can get some L3 time in the mountains with us..

 

dp

[rotormandan]

Instrument training is tedious. If you want to "fly" the 206, then get some vfr training in it ad go shoot some confines or mt stuff or whatever you can come up with. Do the la thing and get a beer from goldy. You can stare at instruments in anything don't put the $$$ out just for that. Doing a commercial or cfi rating in a 206 would be more fun if you're trying to get a rating to jutify paying for 206. Or as said before fly a ship that is actually approved for imc. You'd have a leg up on most of us here.

[ADRidge]

You might call Dale over at Longhorn Helicopters in Denton. They keep that 206 pretty busy, but i imagine you could find some time to fly with those folks. I highly recommend them.

[helonorth]

Plenty of 206's out there. An instrument 206 is gonna be a rare bird.

Edited April 23, 2011 by helonorth

[BOATFIXERGUY]

Prepare to be disappointed

 

Good one! See, I'd say that about any "R" product.

 

Now, the 206 is a good product for what it was designed for, just not what it's used for.

[BOATFIXERGUY]

 

if you make it out here in June you can get some L3 time in the mountains with us..

 

dp

 

You guys have an L now?

[Gomer Pylot]

Funny, I never considered instrument flying to be tedious. In fact, the most enjoyable flying I've done is instrument flying. Flying a perfect ILS in 1/4 mile visibility, and having the runway appear right in front of you at the last second is, to me, more satisfying than just about anything else I've ever done. The 206 is certainly not the ideal instrument trainer, but the Army certainly gets plenty of distance with it, and it's far better than the TH13 I trained in. It will do the job. Flying a 206 VFR isn't that big a thrill, and I say that with something over 10k hours in them. It's a good, honest machine, but nothing to write home about. Doing your instrument training in a 206 is, IMO, a good decision if you have the money to spare. If you consider the training and instrument flying in general to be tedious and boring, you're never going to be a good instrument pilot.

[helonorth]

You're probably right, I may never make much of an instrument pilot. The whole following the needles thing is pretty exciting though, and when the runway comes into view: Wow! How did that just happen?! I must really be some kind of pilot! I'm sure the 206 is a very capable instrument trainer and I'm sure the army did still does well with it it. But uncle sugar is paying the (very big) bill. If you're going to stare at gauges, you might as well do it for $250 in a piston, instead of $800-900 in a turbine.

[rotormandan]

I think flying instrument would be fun if it was the real thing. I'm among the many who spent some time under the hood for the rating and spent a lot of time next to the hood as a cfii. It's probably a bit more thrilling in actual conditions. The fact that 1 can get an insrtument rating without being in the clouds ever and then go on to teach ifr without any time at all in actual imc is way beyond me.

[edspilot]

All:

 

Thanks for all of the comments and advice. Keep them coming, I like to hear the views of others.

 

Some of you know me, some may know of me and others do not know antything about me. All of this is fine, as your thoughts are well intended and welcome.

 

Instrument flying is fun and I enjoy it as I have over 460 hours "actual" in the clouds in airplanes. Early on I flew mail for the post office (when they contracted it out) in Chicago, in Beech 18s and then later in C-402s. Back then all of the mail runs were at night and in all kinds of weather.

 

Then I went on to fly part 135, corporate, and then for the government, then retired. The government flying was great training, great equipment, great associates, good money and best of all lots of fun!

 

Recently I started taking instrument (6hrs) training in a R22, The forward CG in the Instrument R22 just concerns me, as I am 205 pounds. Do not get me wrong i love the R22 for a personal ship but it is quite limited for anything other than training.

 

As a matter of fact I just sold my 2005 R22 this past Thursday and it is now headed to it's new home in San Diego.

 

I might be replacing her with a 206B3, if I like flying it, if not, I'll have the instrument rating and some hours it, thern I'll move on looking for another replacement.

 

All of the options you all have mentioned are still possibilities for me. I could just finish in the R22 or a R44 and be done. Go to LA area and do some hours in the 206, then decide it is the one or not. If it is not, move on to 500 or something else.

 

Anyway that is about it, nothing complicated about it, not trying to "land" the big job, that is for you younger guys & gals to do. One caution I have for you climbing to the top is, remember Eddie Bauer's corporate slogan:

 

"Do Not Confuse Your Career, with having a life!" Never, never, forget this.

 

Today, I'm off to Glynco, GA, this week to present graduation badges to 5 pilots finishing the academy, I assisted getting into CBP. This is what brings me the most satification besides family and friends. Helping others to reach their goals and dreams.

 

Happy Easter all, and again thanks for the comments!

 

Be safe,

 

edspilot

[Gomer Pylot]

I think the company in Titusville, FL does instrument training in 206s. The actual name of the company escapes me at the moment. I know a few pilots who got their ATP down there, and if they do ATP training/rides, they almost certainly can do basic instrument training. If you have the time and the money, go for it. It will help keep you young.